Struggling with the labor shortage, many businesses have reduced their opening hours considerably, even going so far as to close on Sundays. Would there be benefits in tightening the rules of the game for all retailers by modifying the Act respecting the hours and days of admission to commercial establishments? The question is debated in business circles.
The owner of the BMR hardware store on rue Liège, in the Villeray district, discusses with The duty right after completing a job interview.
“It’s more complicated to find people. They apply more for the short term, but it takes time to train people in hardware,” reports Maxime Chevalier.
His store opens later and closes earlier than before the pandemic, in order to retain his employees. “Since I can’t give very high salaries, I try to give them a better quality of life,” explains the entrepreneur.
However, by reducing his opening hours, Mr. Chevalier realized that he had the same turnover and fewer expenses. According to him, consumers today have more flexible working hours and locations, which means they can switch to his business on weekdays.
If he could keep his door locked on Sundays, Mr. Chevalier would gladly do so. But it fears losing loyal customers to its closest competitors, which are open on Sundays.
“Best service”
The lights of the Couture Timber Mart branches in Estrie are turned off on Sundays and weeknights. The advantage for customers is that there are “always competent people on the floor,” says owner Nicolas Couture. “Competent people don’t want to work every weekend,” he says.
The Quebec Hardware and Building Materials Association is convinced that consumers will come out on top if the provincial government reduces the legal working hours in its sector of activity. The group says it has in hand a CROP survey, conducted among homeowners who are hardware stores customers, which supports its arguments.
“The survey confirms that people want a shorter opening time if it means getting better service,” says its president, Richard Darveau. The details of the poll are to be released Thursday.
Yes, traders can decide themselves to reduce their opening hours. “But it’s penalizing, because customers then turn to big businesses, which have stronger backs,” believes Mr. Darveau. He is worried about seeing the smallest stores disappear.
If the debate is very present in the middle of the hardware stores, it extends to the whole of the retail trade. Remember that businesses in Quebec had the right in 1992 to welcome customers on Sundays.
“The position of supermarkets, convenience stores and hardware stores was that they did not agree with the opening of businesses seven days a week,” reports Louis Fabien, honorary professor in the Department of Marketing at HEC Montreal. . “There are plenty of downsides, like increased running, labor, insurance and heating costs. »
According to Mr. Fabien, several studies showed that consumers were able to spread their shopping over six days and that they instead devoted their Sunday to leisure activities with their family and friends.
According to a survey by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) from January 2022, 45.8% of retail businesses agreed that the Quebec government should ban them from opening on Sundays, while 44.5% were against. All companies, all sectors combined, were opposed to it by 54.5%.
“It is important that the government hears this request and that it hears the sector representatives on this issue,” believes François Vincent, vice-president for Quebec of the CFIB.
Risks
There would be risks in carrying out a ban on all types of trade on the same day, according to Mr. Vincent. Some businesses could find themselves having to forgo very lucrative sales days. “The pandemic has led to a change in consumer behavior. The web giants will remain open,” he adds.
The Quebec Retail Trade Council (CQCD) also consulted consumers and its members on this subject. Consumers were in favor of closing on Sundays by 16% to 49%, depending on the type of business. Retailers, on the other hand, said they preferred “variable adjustments depending on the location and the type of business rather than arriving at the mandatory closing of a day such as Sunday,” indicates the CQCD website.
The Retail Council of Canada (RCCD), for its part, rejects the idea of imposing new restrictions on hours. The president for Quebec of the CCCD, Michel Rochette, believes that each merchant must be able to decide for himself which opening hours he prioritizes, according to his needs. According to him, it is the implementation of solutions to the labor shortage that can relieve retailers.